


RESET

by BohemianKitty



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Depressed Sans, Female Frisk, Flowey's RESETs, Gen, Mentions of Genocide Route, Optimistic Papyrus, Papyrus Remembers Resets, Papyrus hugs Sans, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Pre-Undertale, Sans Has Issues, Sans Needs A Hug, Sans Remembers Resets, Sans' point of view, Sans-centric, Suicidal Thoughts, Time Loop, Time Shenanigans, Undertale Neutral Route, Undertale Saves and Resets, Undertale True Pacifist Route, but nooo, by Flowey of course, how to tag, i dont even, i'm posting this shit, it's late i should be sleeping, reset, so many tag aaa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 09:11:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10738629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BohemianKitty/pseuds/BohemianKitty
Summary: Sometimes, being hopeless is fine. When you are hopeless, coping with the disappointment is a tad bit easy. It is way better than getting your hopes up, and then having it crushed in pieces by the harsh fact that is reality.Sans is struggling to face the fact that he would never be able to escape from this loop of time, doomed to do the same thing over and over. He is furious, frustrated, desperate, hopeless—Papyrus puts an arm around Sans' shoulders, and he offers a big smile for his older brother.And just for that moment, Sans feels that everything would turn out okay in the end.....[RESET]





	RESET

**Author's Note:**

> My take of what happened during my (and my bro's) time playing Undertale this whole time. Every time my bro resetted, I always try to make it pacifist and as enjoyable as possible.
> 
> Now I know that Sans doesn't retain any memories when RESET happens in the game, but for the sake of this particular fic, I'll try to go against the canon. And really, I don't want my favorite skele suffers alone. My other favorite skele, who happens to be my favorite skele's brother, also has to suffer with him. You know, so they have a company for each other.

Sans couldn’t believe that the barrier was broken. Sans couldn’t believe that, after centuries of being trapped underground, monsterkind was now free. Sans couldn’t believe that he was now able to see what the world had to offer. He couldn’t believe that he was now free.

Well, not that he wouldn’t believe the freedom would last.

He couldn’t help thinking about it. After a long time living inside an endless time loop, where everything he had done from scratch would easily be ripped off and returning back to square one, Sans couldn’t help but feel very pessimistic about this run. He knew—or, at the very least, expected—the kid, Frisk, would very well be able to snatch this happy ending, like an adult snatching a lollipop from a toddler. He knew Frisk’s ability to SAVE, LOAD, and RESET, thus enabling her to control over the timeline.

She could just go back from the beginning to start a new run. She could easily ripped this happy ending and go back to make a more challenging run.

The thought, despite having already living it, sent shiver up to his spine.

He remembered it all. He didn’t know how and why, but he remembered. He had lived in every timeline, every RESET that happened, every run that was made.

At first, that damned flower appeared. He was panicked, as if he didn’t know what was going on or what to do. Sans was the one who found him, but he was too preoccupied that he didn’t give a second thought about the flower. The first RESET happened when Sans was in the middle of a research. He was upset that the research he had been doing was completely a waste now that he was back from square one.

After that, the RESET happened a bit more frequently. Strangely, he kept seeing the flower on the very same spot he had first seen him on every RESET.

He remembered being frustrated having to wake up on one morning on his bed, over and over. He had once checked the data and the reports, and concluded that an anomaly had been messing with the timeline. He didn’t know why, but he suspected that the flower was behind all these RESETs.

The flower kept appearing every now and then. Papyrus had been telling him that he befriended a talking flower named Flowey. When Papyrus introduced him to Sans, the flower was nervous. Sans suspected that something was amiss, but when he least expected it, when he was lounging on the sofa with his brother cooking in the kitchen; when it had been a pretty good day; another RESET occurred. He was back at the day when Papyrus told him that he was befriending a talking flower. From that point on, Sans had a strong suspicion that Flowey was behind every RESET that happened, that Flowey was the anomaly that had been messing with the time space continuum, that Flowey had a great amount of determination to be able to SAVE, LOAD, and RESET.

He decided to stay and watch, see what would happen. He watched every move Flowey did, every action Flowey chose, every word Flowey said, every expression Flowey made. But he just couldn’t see how Flowey used his power. Every time he turned his attention to something else for a second, in the next second, the plant was gone. And a RESET would follow. And Flowey would act innocent like nothing had ever happened.

It frustrated Sans that he couldn’t do anything to prevent Flowey from doing a RESET, so he tried to act nice to him. He tried being polite, cracking jokes and puns, making sure Flowey was contented. Papyrus, seeing his older brother made an attempt to make Flowey happy, followed suit. Both brothers did everything they could to make Flowey comfortable in this run.

It sure made Flowey satisfied, but after some time, he grew bored. A RESET occurred.

Sans didn’t know what to do anymore.

So he did what he usually did; watching. He decided to no longer make any contact with the flower, so he made sure that he watched from a safe distance. To see what Flowey was doing, to see what he was up to, to see his plan of action.

In that timeline, Flowey attempted to make friends. He completed every mission, puzzle, and step to befriending some certain monsters. He gave presents, he praised, he helped, and he befriended everyone. Until he finally completed every task that was given to him.

But as Sans watched, the flower apparently didn’t seem to be satisfied with this run.

Another RESET happened.

There was nothing interesting happened in the next run. Sans watched as Flowey did the very same action as the last the run. Although he did befriend some monsters, Sans noticed that Flowey tried to act like a jerk in this run. It somehow satisfied him, as the responses he got were different than the last run. And then, in the next second, Flowey once again completed the run.

Again, he didn’t seem to be satisfied.

A thought had ever crossed through Sans’ skull that perhaps Flowey was just curious and wanted to see what would happen he did something different. It didn’t help him in this current situation, though.

The next few runs grew to be a bit more gruesome. Flowey killed some certain monsters to see what he would get, to see what different scene that would happen, to see what kind of response he would get. It didn’t matter if Flowey hesitated on his actions; he _killed_ people. And Sans wouldn’t allow that.

He confronted Flowey, asking him “why would you do this?” “what are you doing exactly?”, telling him to “stop doing this,” that his actions “have crossed the line,” “what are you aiming on doing this?” “stop RESETting the damn timeline, for God’s sake!” He had demanded, shouted, pleaded even, for Flowey to stop RESETting, stop messing with the time space continuum, stop messing with the Underground, stop messing with the monsters—stop messing with his brother.

Flowey hesitated once more, and then disappeared into the ground.

The day passed by just like that. The monsters that had lost their dear family and friends held their funerals. Sans was more than relieved to see that the day had gone by so normally. Papyrus may have lost his dear ‘friend’, as he had searched everywhere in Snowdin, but Sans reassured him that Flowey might need some time alone. At least, that was what he convinced himself to. Papyrus, although crestfallen, believed him.

Sans also wanted to believe it. He desperately wanted to believe that the flower might need some time alone, to think what he had done.

A week later, yet another RESET occurred.

Flowey appeared.

He started a killing spree.

He mercilessly killed every monster he encountered. He even dared to look for monsters and then kill them on sight. Some sources said that he had come from the Ruins, the very region where humans usually made their appearances. And Sans had spotted him, stabbing a poor Snowdrake, instantly dusting them on place, not far from the huge door where he believed the Ruins was hidden; the same door he usually shared jokes and puns through with the lady on the other side. If Flowey had made it this far, the lady might as well have been dusted.

It was a genocide run, as Flowey no longer held any sympathy toward the monsters, and he killed them without even giving a single glance. Sans, while watching Flowey, contacted Alphys and told her to evacuate the whole Underground. And while he did, he noticed Flowey’s expression; not sick joy or anguish, but instead, desperate curiosity flashed in his eyes.

Sans was struck with horror; Flowey killed everyone for the sake of fulfilling his curiosity.

Of course. He should have known better.

Flowey had the power—the determination—to control the timeline like some toys in a toy box. He could very well RESET the whole timeline, and there was no need to evacuate the whole Underground in the first place. He could RESET, and the killing spree would have never happened from the start. He could RESET, and those poor souls who fell down would be up and about on a fine morning.

Flowey could fulfill his curiosity, RESET, and act like nothing had ever happened.

None would have remembered except him anyway.

And Sans.

And also Papyrus, apparently, as he saw him standing in front of Flowey, asking him to stop whatever he was doing and “GO BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS BEFORE”. Sans watched as Papyrus coaxed the flower to go back and make it better for everyone, like he used to do. He believed that his ‘friend’ “COULD GET BETTER BY BEFRIENDING EVERYONE AGAIN,” believed that Flowey “CAN BE A GOOD FLOWER IF YOU JUST TRY,” believed that he “CAN DO BETTER,” “CAN CHANGE FOR THE BETTER,” “SO EVERYONE CAN BE HAPPY AND NO ONE GETS KILLED!”

Hesitation was evident in Flowey’s eyes, before once again disappearing into the ground, just like his confrontation with Sans.

The next few runs passed by dully. Sans had long given up trying to prevent Flowey from RESETting, stopped caring about Flowey, stopped doing everything right. If there was anything that Sans had learned from every RESET he had lived in, it was that he shouldn’t have bothered trying to do anything at all. Because, if everything would end up being RESET, why bother even trying at all? Everything he could have done would be snatched away and he would be back at square one. So why even bother trying to do something that was even pointless from the start? He thought bitterly.

That was why Sans started to laze around, didn’t even bother to do anything. He never bothered to go to work, to do his laundry, to do the chores, because once the timeline was RESET, everything would return back from the start, back to square one. They say that nothing in the world would last, and Sans definitely agreed on that, whoever said it. He had been so pessimistic, as if nothing in the world could motivate him to even make a move at all.

Nothing, except his dear little brother Papyrus.

Papyrus had been good, taking care of him and even looking for a job for him to take, just so he could distract his mind away from the RESETs. Papyrus had been so optimistic, a stark contrast to Sans’ point of view. Maybe it was because Papyrus was a hard worker from the start, and he was energetic compared to Sans. He didn’t know, but Papyrus somehow made him feel like there was more to the world, more to explore, and more to discover. Papyrus, despite having lived the worst of RESETs, made Sans hope that maybe, just maybe, they could get out of this time loop and live a normal life. But of all things, Papyrus’ happiness was Sans’ goal, so he decided, for his brother’s sake, he would keep on living his life.

Time flew by, RESETs come and gone, good timelines and worst timelines passed by, some (if not all) monsters were spared or killed, FIGHT and MERCY buttons were pushed, and the eighth child, a little girl, finally fell into the Underground.

Ever since the girl fell, Flowey’s RESETs had ceased to happen. And, as Sans suspected from the reports, the girl was the massive anomaly that arrived in the Underground. The girl had a huge amount of determination, even bigger than Flowey, thus stealing his ability to SAVE, LOAD, and RESET.

Sans figured that if he could just catch, or maybe kill—but the Royal Canines could do it instead—the girl before sending her to the King, maybe the time loop would stop. With the seven souls, King Asgore could destroy the barrier and the monsterkind could be free, both free from centuries of imprisonment and free of the time loop—free of RESETs.

But due to his promise with the lady on the other side of the door, Sans’ hopes crushed yet again. This was a part of why he hated making promises.

The child came out of the door. He greeted her with a whoopee cushion, cracked a joke or two with Papyrus, accompanied Papyrus ‘catch’ the human, and then watched her from afar. He was a bit nervous when he left Papyrus alone with the girl, as she had killed Dogamy and Dogaressa before, but the girl probably wasn’t used to his brother’s magic. She nearly died three times before Papyrus sent her to the garage and took care of her. It was hilarious when the girl faced Papyrus the fourth time and opted to skip the battle. He could tell she was as exhausted as Papyrus was. And then the date happened. Sans remembered chuckling when Papyrus friendzoned the poor girl. But at least, his brother had an experience dating with a human. Catching a human was one thing, but dating one was really something.

The RESETs happened every time the girl encountered a monster and died. It was almost like a game. The most frequent RESETs that happened was when the girl faced Undyne the last time. Really, Sans was at a lost as to why the child couldn’t see that the only way to get away from Undyne was to flee. He was frustrated having to drink his ketchup over and over just because the child thought she could get away only from ACTing. After six or more RESETs, the girl finally learned that she needed to flee—thank God—and flee she did. He was certain that the girl reached his sentry station at some point, hazily recalling Undyne berated him, but he couldn’t careless. After a minute or two, Undyne came back. Sans figured the kid might have poured her water.

After that, Alphys and Mettaton happened. The girl had a bit of a problem in solving some puzzles laid out for her, but she managed. The girl was a bit terrorized whenever Mettaton made an appearance, but she relaxed whenever Alphys called them. It seemed like Alphys’ cheap trick to insert herself into the human’s adventure really worked—the kid warmed up to her. It was until she faced Mettaton the last time in the CORE. When the robot told her the truth, the kid couldn’t understand what was going on. Poor girl, having to face this whole ordeal. But Sans figured it was nothing compared to what he and Papyrus had been living in. Then the whole battle with Mettaton EX and Alphys’ confession of lying to the kid this whole time happened.

It was a matter of time until the kid arrived in the hallway. He remembered she looked contemplative and somber. She then walked along, admiring the golden hallway. He took his time, letting her look around in awe at the sight, until she really noticed him there. He then told her the truth, everything about LOVE and EXP, everything that has happened during her journey, everything that would happen should she choose to spare Asgore or kill him, and he let the thoughts sink into her head, let her think about what she had done. But really, it didn’t matter to him what she thought. He only wanted her to be honest with herself. That incident with Dogamy and Dogaressa was probably just a small misunderstanding or a self-defense. That didn’t matter. They were gone, leaving only three Royal Canines in their places. And the kid looked very guilty. He figured it was enough for her.

After that out of the way, the kid then entered the throne room. Sans didn’t know exactly what happened, but a few RESETs happened, so he assumed the girl didn’t know what to do and FIGHTing was not her option. But it was, and the girl couldn’t see it. Just like Undyne’s fight, the girl died and RESET a few times before she finally figured out what to do.

Then, after that, his memory was a bit hazy. What he did recall was his phone call to the kid, explaining the state of the Underground since she got out. Undyne lost her job and house, and stayed with him and Papyrus. The lady—he didn’t know that she was a former Queen—was on the throne and ruled over the Underground, instating a policy that every human who fell down would be treated as a friend. It was for the best, he figured.

He thought that was it, that it was the end. They would stay underground for God-knows-how-long.

He almost dared to hope that there would be no RESET happening.

But _no_. The kid just _had_ to get back from the beginning.

During this timeline, all Sans did was hoping that this timeline wouldn’t be too bad or end up with many monsters dusted.

The girl didn’t do anything weird. She did everything in order nicely, even befriended Undyne and dated Alphys. She even explored the True Lab. And when the kid prepared to meet with the King, Papyrus called him to go to the throne room, saying that she needed ‘help’. Sans didn’t know how Papyrus knew this, but went along with it anyway.

When Sans arrived there, everyone, including Toriel, the former Queen, was there. Everyone was happily chatting with each other, cracking jokes, comforting Asgore, even a kiss was almost happening if only Toriel didn’t interfere. Everything was going nice, until Papyrus stated that he called everyone with the help of a tiny flower.

And things went south, with Flowey stealing the humans’ souls, interfering, and taking them all for hostage. Then there was white, and his memory went a bit hazy after that. The next thing he knew, he found himself lying on the ground, while the others were standing around the unconscious girl.

And the barrier was broken.

Everyone was rejoicing for the fact. Everyone was overjoyed when they discovered that freedom was before their eyes now that the barrier was gone. Everyone was discussing what they would do once they were up on the Surface. Everyone was ready to head outside to see what the world had in store for them. Everyone, including Sans.

He thought that it was the end of their journey, the end of the torture of the time loop and RESETs. He was ready to embrace the fact that there would be no more RESET, no more time loop that would send them back to where they started, no more torture of seeing his loved ones die in the _hands_ of that cursed flower (heh). He was finally able to forget about the past and step into the brand new future for the monsterkind with his friends. He was finally able to move on.

How wrong he was.

It was a few days—maybe a week—after they settled in the city. It was night, and Sans went to sleep after reading Papyrus another bedtime story. As soon as he woke up, he found himself lying on the mattress inside his old room back in Snowdin. After another look through his window, he confirmed himself that he was indeed back in Snowdin. And he heard the oh so familiar crash, the kind of crash that after so many RESETs Sans didn’t even so much as flinch at, from the kitchen where Papyrus was cooking.

The damn girl RESET.

Apparently, he figured, the kid didn’t seem to be satisfied at the last run. Just like Flowey had.

That time, in that particular timeline, Sans wanted nothing more than to curse out loud and sleep himself to death. The only reason he managed to get up at all was Papyrus.

The rest of the day went like usual before the kid came out of the Ruins. And as soon as she did, everything went like the last run. Another pacifist run. That time, Sans wanted to laugh. The kid didn’t dare to leave them alone. She wanted to do this run perfectly with no violent doings. That run where she killed Dogamy and Dogaressa must have been an accident, then. She was determined not to kill anyone that time.

The kid didn’t so much as dying when she battled Papyrus, did everything right when she faced Undyne and then befriended her, didn’t feel as horror-struck as the last run when he threatened her in that date, faced Mettaton with confidence she didn’t have before, tried to look solemn and somber when she faced him (really, Sans could see through her—she didn’t have to put up that mask), and finally battled Asgore. She died not as much as the last run.

The next few runs were all just like that last pacifist run. The kid just wanted to ‘play’ this perfectly without any EXP or LV. She wanted to explore some more uncovered places, places she had never been into, looking for something new she might have missed in the last run.

Heh, getting to the Surface suddenly didn’t seem as appealing as before. Really, the moment the barrier was broken, that kid could’ve RESET and everything was back to square one. The barrier would still be in one piece, everyone would have that same useless hope that they would be freed, all because this one single girl was curious about this particular cavern and its inhabitants.

Sans wasn’t expecting much, really. Rather, he was expecting a particular genocide.

But so far, the girl didn’t do anything like that. She didn’t even try to FIGHT the monsters she encountered, even when she seemed to be distracted or bored. When she encountered monsters, she ended the battle just as quickly as it started by ACTing. It was like she avoided the thought of killing the monsters. Every time these particular runs started, she tried to be a pacifist, sparing every monster she encountered, befriending everyone, resolving conflicts by ACTing.

He could tell the girl was bored. Puzzles didn’t even seem to interest her at all. Hell, she solved every puzzle in a second without so much as frowning. It wasn’t like the first time, where the girl couldn’t solve Papyrus’ XO puzzle (that was quite easy, really), and she asked for his help, and Papyrus showed that a button on a certain tree would solve the puzzle. Recently, she deliberately held herself from solving it to look confused so as to appease Papyrus.

Ah, Sans recalled that certain timeline where the kid managed to kill several monsters. She looked conflicted, probably having a dilemma. But she spared Papyrus and some of the monsters. The look on her face told him that she couldn’t bear killing innocent monsters, particularly Papyrus, for some reason. She RESET before she even reached Waterfall and started off with no killing. It slightly amused him how she avoided on killing someone. It was like she was afraid of starting genocide.

Heh, like it mattered, anyways. Really, even if she started genocide, nothing would matter. She could just RESET and everything would be back to where it started. Nothing mattered.

This one timeline he was currently in didn’t even matter at all.

Sans looked at both of his sides. Toriel was amazed, and so were Undyne, Alphys, and King Asgore. Their expressions were genuine amazement at the very view in front of them, where the sun had just set, lighting up everything in its touch with golden hue. It was quite a breathtaking view when he first saw it. But he could tell that two—maybe three, including him—out of seven of the group were not as amazed.

Frisk was trying to be amazed. Well, the key word being ‘try’.

The group started to head down the mountain. Toriel gave a hand to Frisk, to which she took, and they both went to catch up. Undyne and Alphys were beyond excited that they were finally able to see and explore the Surface together, and Asgore was just happy those centuries of living in seclusion was finally gone.

The Boss Monster suddenly turned at him. “Sans, are you not going to join us?” he asked kindly.

Sans shrugged. “nah, i’ll be with ya in a sec,” he replied airily.

Asgore simply smiled and nodded. And trotting down the mountain he went.

The skeleton monster sighed softly. Really, all of this could’ve been ripped from them so easily; really easy. This precious happy ending where they finally were able to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the fresh air—that girl could take it away from them with a single RESET. Bam. They would be back in Snowdin (or Waterfall, or Hotland, whatever), without a single memory as to what happened.

Just like the past timelines.

Suddenly Sans didn’t have any energy to just climb down the mountain to catch up with everyone. His joints ached slightly, and all he wanted was nothing more than to lie down and wait for the inevitable RESET. It had always been like that. The last run was like that, too. And the run before the last run. It was all gone with a single RESET.

Heh, it wasn’t like there was anything he could do. What could he do, anyways? Making Frisk happy and contented, like he did to Flowey once? Yeah, right. Like it would work, anyways. The last time he checked, Flowey wanted to do genocide out of curiousness after a few RESETs. It was only a matter of time until Frisk would do the same. Screw that fear of killing anyone; she would do genocide one day. Everyone would die again.

And there was nothing Sans could do to stop her.

“SANS?”

The skeleton blinked at the familiar voice. He turned around, a bit surprised to see Papyrus was still standing beside him. “pap? thought you joined the others?” he asked.

Papyrus merely shrugged with a smile. “I JUST WANT TO SAVOR THIS IMAGE A MOMENT LONGER BEFORE IT ENDS,” he replied. “AND I SHOULD BE ASKING YOU A QUESTION FIRST. WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?”

Sans opened his mouth, but nothing came up. After a brief pause, he shrugged. “prolly the same as you,” he muttered.

“DO YOU THINK THE HUMAN WILL RESET AGAIN?”

The older sibling was silent.

Papyrus glanced at his brother, before sighing. “WELL, AT LEAST SHE TRIED TO BE A PACIFIST ALL THIS TIME. NONE OF THE MONSTERS GOT HURT, DON’T THEY? NO ONE DIED THIS TIME.”

“it’s only a matter of time, pap,” Sans pointed out weakly. “she’d definitely kill someone next time.”

“BUT SHE DIDN’T THIS TIME,” Papyrus argued. “AND THE TIMELINE BEFORE THIS TIMELINE. AND THE TIMELINE BEFORE THAT. SHE NEVER WANTS TO KILL ANYONE, BROTHER. I AM VERY CERTAIN THAT SHE WON’T EVEN HURT A FLY NEXT TIME.”

“remember that last timeline where she managed to kill someone?”

“SHE FELT GUILTY! SHE SPARED ME AND SOME MONSTERS! SHE RESET! AND NO ONE DIED AFTER THAT.”

Sans couldn’t manage to make another argument. He was tired. So tired of all of this. So tired of RESET. So tired of time loop. So tired of being one of the few who remembered all past timelines that had happened. Overall, he was so tired of living.

And Papyrus could see that.

The taller skeleton sighed. “IT’S ALRIGHT, BROTHER,” Papyrus soothed, bringing his older, shorter brother into his embrace. “I MAY CANNOT HELP WITH ALL THIS TIME SHENANIGANS, BUT I’LL TRY MY BEST TO CHEER YOU UP, BECAUSE I’M THE GREAT PAPYRUS! HELPING IS ONE OF MY GREATEST EXPERTISES, AFTER ALL!”

Sans chuckled. “heh. what d’ya suggest, then?”

Papyrus opened his mouth to say something, but he hummed instead. “HONESTLY, I HAVEN’T THOUGHT OF ANYTHING YET. BUT WORRY NOT, BROTHER! I SHALL THINK OF SOMETHING FROM HERE!”

Sans didn’t respond, preferring to sigh inside the embrace of his younger, taller brother. He had to admit, Sans was extremely grateful that he wasn’t the only one who remembered. Though, he preferred to have his memories erased when RESET happened. Ignorance is bliss, they said. But he and his brother simply couldn’t because of reasons he didn’t know. Really, the only ones who remembered RESETs were him and his brother alone. None of the others remembered. It tortured him to do every same thing every day like a robot.

“IT’S OKAY, SANS,” Papyrus said, rubbing his back gently. “I REMEMBER EVERYTHING, TOO. EVERY SINGLE THING, IN FACT! YOU AREN’T THE ONLY ONE, BROTHER. SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO FEEL SO DOWN. THE LEAST YOU SHOULD DO IS HOPE THAT THE NEXT RUN WILL BE ANOTHER PACIFIST RUN. NO ONE WILL HAVE TO DIE, AND YOU WON’T HAVE TO WATCH EVERYONE DIE.”

He didn’t know from whom Papyrus inherited that sense of optimism, but he did. In every timeline, in every run, Papyrus always hoped for the best, always saw the best, whatever the outcome. He gladly did every same, single thing, from timeline to timeline, simply because it was the best and productive thing to do to distract them from the knowledge of RESET. He never failed to amaze Sans how he was able to stand strong in this pit of hell. In every timeline, Papyrus was his energetic, optimistic self. He saw the best in every run, and when a RESET was going to happen, he would always hope that the next run would be another great run. Even when a genocide run was in mode.

A great, stark contrast to Sans.

Sans sighed fondly. “pap, i’d love to stay and all, but we gotta get going before the others are worried,” he pointed out.

Papyrus shot up. “OH, RIGHT YOU ARE, BROTHER! LET’S NOT MAKE THEM WAIT ANY LONGER, THEN!” he exclaimed.

If there was anything Sans learned from this run, it was that he was grateful to have his brother with him. Seeing him alive, well, happy, and always standing beside him was enough for Sans. Whatever happened, Papyrus was his first priority.

He wouldn’t trade his brother for anything in this world.

“REMEMBER, BROTHER!” Papyrus reminded him as he trotted down the mountain. “ALWAYS HOPE FOR THE BEST, WHATEVER HAPPENS! BELIEVE THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY; THAT IS THE KEY! TRY TO APPLY IT TO YOUR LIFE FOR ONCE!” And down the mountain he went.

Sans stared at his brother’s back.

_hope, huh?_

Sans looked down on his slippers.

He wanted to. He desperately wanted to. For Papyrus’ sake. For everyone’s sake. He desperately wanted to hope for the best—to believe that eventually, everything would turn out okay in the end. He, for once, desperately wanted to do what his younger brother wanted him to do. He wanted to hope and believe.

Another wave of negative thoughts came thundering inside his skull.

The breeze of the Surface blew softly, bringing leaves and flower petals with it. The clouds slowly made their way in front of the ball of flame, covering its light, painting the sky with orange and violet hue mixed into one.

A normal view after so many RESETs.

When he felt Papyrus was out of earshot, Sans chuckled softly. “’m sorry, paps. guess i can’t hope any longer.” He looked up to the sky, his permanent grin fell ever so slightly. “none of this will last long.”

The wind blew softly.

.

.

.

.

.

[RESET]

.

.

.

.

.

“heh. told ya, didn’t i?”

**Author's Note:**

>  _Tibia_ honest, I don't really know what I'm writing. This is just my take of what happened during my recent run on Undertale, which is, as usual, a pacifist run. It's 2 a.m. and I need to sleep. But nooo. I'm posting this shit. I should get my priorities straight.
> 
> Comment is welcome, concrits are more than welcome. No flame, though.


End file.
